Gaudete et Exsultate (Rejoice and be Glad)

In Gaudete et Exsultate (‘Rejoice and be Glad’), his third apostolic exhortation since becoming pontiff, Pope Francis invites Christians to contemplate the call to holiness in the contemporary world.

In this important new document, Francis reminds readers that we are only truly living out our mission as Christians if we emulate the example set by the Gospels for ‘the ultimate criterion on which our lives will be judged is what we have done for others’. He also warns against the evils of a faith that is divorced from good deeds and explores our obligation to care for the marginalised and dispossessed with particular emphasis on the Beatitudes.

Alongside chapters exploring ways in which we should embrace holiness in our day-to-day lives and recognise the various signs of holiness we observe in the world around us, Gaudete et Exsultate also explains how we can remain steadfast in adversity and, through the gifts of prayer and discernment, carry out ‘the mission to which [God] has called us, for the good of our brothers and sisters’.